Freshman Beau Bennett didn’t participate in the orange-lemon shootout at today’s DU practice and I didn’t see him afterward, but the winger will travel with the team to Mankato, Minn., Thursday morning and be available for this weekend’s series against Minnesota State. Bennett, who has missed the past five games, is still nursing a knee injury. He skated at the beginning of practice.

In other news:

— Goalies Sam Brittain and Adam Murray will trade starts against the Mavericks, assistant coach Derek Lalonde told me. Brittain (10-4-4, 2.06, .926) will start Friday, and Murray (3-1, 4.23, .849) will go Saturday. The sophomore has opened the past two series, with the freshman serving as the closer. It’s flip-flopped now.

— Sophomore wing Chris Knowlton, who rolled his ankle in practice this week, will not travel. Senior defensemen/forwards Jon Cook and Joey Brehm will travel and both likely play forward on Friday if Bennett doesn’t play.

— Stud freshman wing Jason Zucker got the lemon today, losing in the final to sophomore D-man Paul Phillips. Junior sniper Luke Salazar also was in jeopardy of losing the shootout game that always concludes the last practice at home before a game. We’ll have a nice spread on Zucker and DU/U.S. World Junior linemate Drew Shore in Friday’s paper.

— Phillips said this about DU moving back to a traditional six-man defensive corps on the heels of William Wrenn’s departure to major junior last week: “It’s always tough to see a teammate go, especially a sophomore and a close friend like William, but it was best for everyone. It really was . . . It’s a little bit easier because you get to practice with a partner all week, and really get to learn how he plays and his tendencies, and you can feed off that.”

— DU coach George Gwozdecky is at an NCAA convention today and will meet the team in Mankato on Thursday.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.